Chapter 32 - The Breach and the Chase
Bullets began to chew through the outer drywall of the server room, spraying white plaster dust into the chilled air as David Vance’s mercenaries opened blind fire down the narrow hallway.
“Ronan! Eighty percent downloaded!” I shouted over the deafening clatter of automatic gunfire, watching the progress bar crawl across my laptop screen.
“Hurry! They’re bringing in a breach charge!” Ronan yelled back, snapping off three controlled return shots that silenced a mercenary trying to set an explosive pack against our doorframe.
The two enforcers flanking him laid down a dense, suppressive wall of lead, keeping the attackers pinned behind a reinforced corner thirty feet away.
Ninety-five percent... ninety-nine percent...
“Download complete! Data secured and backed up to the cloud!” I yelled, yanking the cable free, slamming my laptop shut, and shoving it back into my tactical pack with adrenaline surging through every vein.
“Move, move, move!” Ronan grabbed my hand, yanking me backward toward the drainage culvert exit as the heavy steel door finally buckled under the force of a secondary explosive charge.
Smoke and shrapnel filled the air. Through the haze, a familiar, desperate face appeared in the doorway—David Vance, his expensive suit rumpled, holding a smoking pistol with a wild, unhinged look in his eyes.
“You’re not leaving here with those files, Cain!” Vance shrieked, raising his weapon directly toward my back.
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Before Vance could pull the trigger, Ronan pivoted with terrifying speed. His suppressed rifle cracked once—a sharp, muffled cough—and Vance dropped his pistol, clutching a bleeding shoulder as he collapsed backward onto the server room floor, screaming in agony.
“Let’s go, Thea!” Ronan roared, hauling me through the drainage pipe just as a fresh wave of mercenaries flooded into the smoking room.
